Megha Bhattacharya (A.B. ’19, right) standing next to Vice President Kamala Harris (center) and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (left). (Courtesy of the Vice President’s Office)

Megha Bhattacharya, A.B. ’19, remembers working on the last Democratic National Convention (DNC), which took place in 2020, from her parents’ house. When she joined in March, the convention was still expected to host thousands of attendees, but that number dwindled over the weeks until the event went fully virtual.

“I was really lucky to be on an incredible digital team that was really scrappy and willing to be creative about the situation that we were in,” she said in an interview with the Maroon. “I feel like we were able to put on a convention that more Americans than ever had seen and were really able to spread our message and be creative.”

Now, as deputy director of surrogate communications for the upcoming 2024 DNC in Chicago, Bhattacharya is hoping to use the lessons she learned from the previous convention to unite Democrats and to “reach people where they are.”

This year’s DNC, which will take place from August 19–22, is expected to be tense, with protests anticipated on the streets of Chicago. Bhattacharya says that the stakes this year are high.

“There are so many issues that are on the line right now,” she said. One issue that is anticipated to be a source of controversy is the current war in Gaza.

At the same time, Bhattacharya expressed her excitement over supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic nominee after President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, and Harris’s vice-presidential pick, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota.

“As a South Asian woman in politics, I cannot think of a better role model for women of color who hope to make a difference in the lives of others,” Bhattacharya said. “I’m very excited to rally around the Harris-Walz ticket at the convention so that I can call her Madam President Harris.”

In her current role at the DNC, Bhattacharya interfaces with surrogates, or anyone who wants to speak on behalf and in support of the Democratic presidential candidate. She says that her work usually involves phone calls with the teams of elected representatives and news networks.

“I’m basically trying to figure out what they’re interested in talking about and what they want to be involved with in the convention on the elected official side, and then on the news network side, [I’m] trying to figure out what sort of coverage they want to create, the story they want to tell, and just interweaving both parts of that,” she said.

Bhattacharya has been involved in politics since she was a student at UChicago. She interned for the Institute of Politics (IOP); spent summers working in Washington, D.C.; contributed to UChicago’s political review, The Gate; and took a quarter off during her fourth year to work for the State Department at the United Nations in Vienna.

“UChicago has really shaped a lot of my life, and I’m really grateful for that,” she said. “The IOP really funded all of my summer internships in D.C., so I got to know a lot of wonderful people there and figure out if D.C. was the right place for me.”

After graduating with a political science degree, Bhattacharya moved to Iowa for the summer to join senior Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign ahead of the Iowa caucus.

“I think I got so lucky with that class and that year and ending up in a really pivotal moment of American politics and getting to see that firsthand,” she said.

Since then, Bhattacharya has been busy taking on various roles within the political world. After Elizabeth Warren ended her campaign, Bhattacharya joined the Biden-Harris campaign and later Jon Ossoff’s Senate campaign in Atlanta. After the election, she worked in the office of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, in the White House as a press assistant, and in the State Department. Although her path has been a long one, Bhattacharya says that every experience has been another step forward in her career.

“After graduation, I probably cycled through eight different jobs in the political world,” she said. “I look back now and, in retrospect, it makes sense. Every move has led me to another milestone in my career. When you’re trying to decide between jobs and opportunities, I think it’s so important to follow your gut and take risks, especially if it’s something that you care about.”

After the DNC, Bhattacharya plans to return to UChicago to become what she calls a “triple-Maroon,” pursuing a joint M.B.A.–M.A. in international relations. For her, this return to academia is an opportunity to explore new paths.

“I think something that UChicago kids have in common is that we love to learn and we love to experiment, and that doesn’t just disappear when we graduate,” Bhattacharya said. “That’s a spirit that we carry on throughout the rest of our lives, so I feel like this is such a great opportunity to take all of the incredible skills and opportunities that I’ve had and use different contexts and tools to play with them.”